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Soundproofing Case Studies

Soundproofing performance can often be best judged by looking at real case studies

Walls

Emma (30's house, brick party wall)

Party walls - SM20 Panels

Outline the problem

Noisy neighbours - noise varied from full on parties to general noise, tv, coughing, talking etc

Ease of fitting?

Very straightforward as it is essentially just gluing boards to the wall.

The end result, did it cope with the problem? What can you hear now?

Background noise really reduced - you have to press your ear against the wall to hear anything! It's great to have some privacy!

Robert (60's Cavity Wall)

Party walls - SM20 Panels

Outline the problem

Our house is situated in the middle of farm land and as such the ambient noise is almost zero. Our nearest neighbor is over 1/2 a mile away. Our sitting room backs onto my Mother's annex sitting room. This is an old external concrete block cavity wall divided the two rooms. One was aware of muffled conversations but the television noise was quite intrusive.

Ease of fitting?

My wife and I fitted SM20 panels with the extra 19mm plasterboard. These were glued up and were a complete breeze to fit, taking less than a morning (the wall is 4.5m by 2.4m)

The end result, did it cope with the problem? What can you hear now?

The results were astounding, way beyond our expectation. Now the electric piano can be played in the main sitting room at a volume that is uncomfortable and one has to REALLY strain to hear it at all next door. I can not recommend this system enough.

A note from Soundstop. Please be aware that often in the case of breeze block walls the wall itself can be effectively soundproofed. However if the walls attached to it are also of made of breeze block, you can suffer from flanking transmission. In the above case Robert did not have any flanking issues as the flanking walls were made of brick.

Heather (Victorian Build)

Party walls - SM20 Panels

Outline the problem

I live next door to a very nice young family, unfortunately they have a nocturnal two year old who kept me awake as well as his harassed parents. I didn't blame anyone, its just normal family life, but I needed to get some sleep at night .I found this web site and as the cost was affordable I decided it was worth a try.

Ease of fitting?

I had the bedroom room re plastered at the same time as the fitment of the boards to the party wall, the boards were fitted and the room re plastered all in one day and as I had all the materials, the cost was just the days labour

The end result, did it cope with the problem? What can you hear now?

The improvement is immense, I can sometimes hear the family faintly if I am awake, but I am never woken by them now. At the moment I have bought the boards to do the party wall in the living area and in time I am also going to 'sound stop' the other party walls in the ho use.

Gary Albian (Victorian terrace, South London)

Party walls - SM20 Panels

Outline the problem

We could hear the people next door talking loudly and shouting at each other, it was loud enough to hear above the sound of our TV with the volume turned up.

Ease of fitting?

I found it very easy to fit the boards,and could not think of anything to make it easier.

The end result, did it cope with the problem? What can you hear now?

Now after fitting the boards it has made a dramatic difference it is much better, we can sometimes hear something but it is mainly a distant muffled sound, I would say an 90% improvement and would use the same method again.

Sean, Oxfordshire (60’s house, brick party wall)

Party walls - SM20 Panels

Outline the problem

Normal daily noise of people next door could be clearly heard in our lounge.

Ease of fitting?

Simple to use! my wife and I soundproofed the wall in one evening.

The end result, did it cope with the problem? What can you hear now?

No longer hear talking, laughing or the television from next door, This product has exceeded our expectations!

Mr. and Mrs. Baird (Victorian Build)

Party walls - SM20 Panels

Outline the problem

Very noisy neighbours – loud music late at night that affect our sleep.

Ease of fitting?

Very easy to cut, handle and fit. All materials were of good quality

The end result, did it cope with the problem? What can you hear now?

Yes it did. Made an enormous difference and glad we went for the thicker panels. Will certainly be in touch again if I decide to soundproof other areas of our party wall in our lounge and dining room.

George Bath Edwardian Terrace (Brick)

Party walls - SM20 Panels

Outline the problem

We had a lot of noise coming through the party wall, TV talking and coughing.

Ease of fitting?

The panels themselves are very heavy and I was a little sceptical that the glue would be strong enough to hold it to the wall. Soundstop Reassured us and we were able to put the first layer of plasterboard and the SS20 panels in a day. We finished the job the next morning and none of it seemed too complicated

The end result, did it cope with the problem? What can you hear now?

We are really please with the result . A lot of the noises we heard before seem to have gone altogether and some of the louder noises are really muffled. The product seems to have worked very well for us. I would recommend it.

Rebecca Putney London Georgian Maisonette (Brick)

Party walls - SM20 Panels

Outline the problem

Music and arguing on an almost daily basis meant that our sleep was getting disrupted.

Ease of fitting?

We were unsure whether we would be able to fit the product so employed the services of the fitting team. Two guys cam over and finished our bedroom wall in the day. It made me think that even I could have tackled the job

The end result, did it cope with the problem? What can you hear now?

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this product. It took up very little space and we don't even notice the room size has got smaller. The result was good we are now moving on to do our lounge wall

Shirley and Robert (1970s Semi detached Bungalow)

Party walls - SM20 Panels

Outline the problem

Our problem is a very deaf neighbour, resulting in us suffering, over a long period of time, from having to listen to the sound of high volume TV programmes, loud voices and banging of internal doors etc through the brick party walls of the adjoining property. We used to have to watch the same TV programme as our neighbour as we could view our mute set and listen easily to the sound from next door !!.

Ease of fitting?

My husband and his brother (both approaching their 70s in age) fitted the recesses of the adjoining wall with resilient bars, acoustic wool and acoustic plasterboard, and the chimney wall with SM20s. The whole job took two days and both men found the materials easy to work with and the instructions easy to follow.

The end result, did it cope with the problem? What can you hear now?

What an amazing difference this has made!! I can now sit in my own lounge and read a newspaper or watch TV in peace, something I haven't been able to do for over 8 years. We no longer know which programme our neighbours are watching or if they have friends or relatives visiting and we feel so relieved to have our lives back again. Now and again there is a slightly muffled TV sound penetrating through to our side of the wall but this is completely bearable and nothing at all like the mental torture we have suffered previously.

Ivan D (1910 Terrace)

Party walls - SM20 Panels

Outline the problem

We live in a 1910 terrace. In the living room we could easily hear television - could tell what was being watched ! Voices, coughing etc - even over the noise of our own television!.

Ease of fitting?

I would say it was straightforward - though obviously quite physical and was glad of an extra pair of hands to help. Perhaps if you had no d.i.y experience you may find it more difficult.

The end result, did it cope with the problem? What can you hear now?

Huge improvement.Can now enjoy that room without giving any thought to next door.If you press your ear to the wall it is sometimes just possible to hear - but only just. Occasionally if very loud, bass heavy music is played it can be heard.

Simon Walker, Portland (1910 Terrace)

Party walls - SM20 Panels

Outline the problem

My party wall had just as well not been there. I could hear my neighbours and their children whenever they raised their voice. They didn’t need to shout to be heard. The only problem with their television was we couldn't see the picture otherwise I could have sold my TV .It was becoming really annoying especially at weekends. We could hear almost everything & I mean everything especially at night !!

Ease of fitting?

I fitted the soundproofing , and it really is easy .I even did it on my own without help. I just followed the simple instructions supplied and it really was simple. Even cutting the boards was easy as pie. You would not know it was there. That can’t be bad especially as I have only ever attempted simple D.I.Y tasks before.

The end result, did it cope with the problem? What can you hear now?

The results are outstanding. There is no way I’m letting my neighbour know I’ve put it up because they will probably be even noisier than before. I can only hear their television when they blast it, plus you can hear it louder from outside the house now! Their everyday noise is virtually none existent unless you turn off the TV and put your ear to the wall, even then it’s a quiet mumble. Even at night the noise is really, really difficult to hear, you have to try and hear them now!! A brilliant product with brilliant results and easy to fit .Believe me it works!!!

Floors

Fiona, West London (Victorian conversion- renovating old timber floor)

Floor Solution 4 - Underfloor Hanger Floor

Outline the problem

Having removed a wall between my kitchen and lounge to create a large open plan living area in my 1/F flat, I removed the existing floor surface (lino and carpet) with the intention of sanding back the existing wooden flooring. With a neighbour living below me, installing sound proofing was essential as the noise transference between both flats was significant. I researched sound proofing systems on the web and having found SoundStop's website, sought advice.

Ease of fitting?

I opted for solution 4 for which allowed me to retain my existing floors and ensure sound transference between flat was minimised as much as possible. SoundStop were brilliant at providing technical advice both prior to purchase and during installation of the system. This proved invaluable to both myself (the DIY novice!) and my builder. Installation was relatively straight forward although lifting the existing boards & removing hundreds of old floor tacks proved very time consuming!

The end result, did it cope with the problem? What can you hear now?

Yes. Once I removed the original carpets and lino from both rooms, I was able to hear everything my neighbour said and did in her flat below. However, with the sound proofing installed, at least 80% of the noise has disappeared (had I laid carpets, I'm sure there would be minimal noise, if any). Another positive to note - my newly restored floor boards are also very nice to walk on. It's like walking on cushioned floors!

Ceilings

Neville C (Victorian conversion flat- retained original ceiling)

Ceiling Solution 2 - Hanger Ceiling

Outline the problem

A lot of noise permeated down to us from above particularly footfall and TV noise.

Ease of fitting?

We installed acoustic hangers with 50mm square battens in filled with 50mm mineral wool slabs and two layers of 12.5mm plasterboard. We didn't use the 19mm for space reason but the soundproofing still seems very effective. To do my lounge (about 5m x 4.5m) took two of us (experienced amateur DIY'ers) four days, a bit longer than predicted admittedly and we worked pretty hard, but we got there in the end

The end result, did it cope with the problem? What can you hear now?

The room is now my 'own space' and i don't hear the neighbours in the lounge of the flat above any longer. I've yet to test the result when they have their next party but the stomping footfalls have all but vanished. My only real criticism is that i've got about 40 hangers left over so wished they were sold in less than the 100 no. boxes as they aren't cheap . But still all in all I am very pleased

Brian, Bristol(Edwardian conversion flat- retained original ceiling)

Ceiling Solution 2 - Hanger Ceiling

Outline the problem

Our neighbours upstairs took out the carpets and sanded floor boards we had a lot of footfall and music noise.

Ease of fitting?

After we located the joists, it was relatively straightforward, although it helped to have three for the bigger acoustic boards.It saved a lot of mess not having to take down the old ceiling

The end result, did it cope with the problem? What can you hear now?

The end result is good, the impact sound is better than when the neighbours had carpets. We no longer hear the TV at all and only occasional muffed bass sounds from their stereo. I would recommend this system

Marcus Clapham South London (Bedroom within a Victorian conversion)

Outline the problem

Hi there, just been going through some old flagged messages in the inbox and been reminded i never let you know what i thought about the results of the suspended ceiling you advised and supplied the materials for during the refurbishment of my ground floor flat in Clapham back in April Initially the master bedroom was so noisy (a shared bedroom of teenage hip-hop fans directly upstairs; lyrics of their music easily discernible) that I was considering selling the flat as soon as the other refurbishment work was done, but decided to give the Soundstop advice and materials a try before giving up.

Ease of fitting?

The new ceiling replaced the existing plasterboard and took my builders a day and a bit to complete.

The end result, did it cope with the problem? What can you hear now?

Afterwards, to be honest to start with it was so quiet I just thought they'd gone out or stopped using the room (and didn't want to tempt fate by admitting it was working so well!) , but 6 months on I still haven't heard more than the most distant murmur so I'm prepared to say it's worked much better than I could have imagined. We can sometimes still hear them shouting (now mainly through the outside window I think) but the baselines and gangster rap are gone. I wish I could have afforded to do the whole flat, but until that point, the bedroom is a sanctuary!As promised, feel free to lift bits from this for your website

Tim Felmingham Surrey (Garage conversion to music practice hall)

Outline the problem

Converting brick-built garage (cavity wall) to make drum practice room. Objective was not perfect soundproofing but simply that sound would not intrude into the neighbours houses. I accepted that if they stood outside, they would be able to hear something but I didn’t want them to hear anything when inside. This required a level of soundproofing slightly better than our house.

Ease of fitting?

Made a proper job of the ceiling using resilient bars, 100mm Acoustic mineral Wool and acoustic plasterboard. Just battened the walls and fixed normal plasterboard straight to the battens as they were cavity brick walls and already quite heavy duty. Paid a lot of attention to sealing all the gaps everywhere. Resilient bars and AMW were easy to work with. Heavy acoustic plasterboard was not! Hired machine from HSS to hold boards up on the ceiling whilst I screwed them up and this made it an easy one man job.

The end result, did it cope with the problem? What can you hear now?

The soundproofing of the structure is very good (especially the roof which is amazing) but some sound leaks through the double-glazed windows and door. However the ceiling performs very well and the result meets the design goals.

Grays Gym, St Johns Wood Road, London

Outline the problem

We had a room in the gym we wanted to use as a physiotherapy and massage room. The problem was we are below Next, the room was essentially un-usable due to thunderous footfall and the noise of customers in the shop above. We also had a problem with noise from ducts and a party wall to the side.

Ease of fitting?

We decided to go for an independent ceiling then resilient bars and acoustic mineral wool. We insulated the ducts with an acoustic duct wrap, and the wall with resilient bars and acoustic plasterboard. Although it looked a lot of stuff it was easy to fit, and our builder had no problems with the instructions.

The end result, did it cope with the problem? What can you hear now?

The result was great it surpassed our expectations as the noise was really bad before. We now use the room for massage and other treatments. Come and see for yourself , you can have a free treatment on us!

Jason, West London ( Victorian conversion)

Outline the problem

The owner of the flat above mine had recently laid parquet flooring above my bedroom and I could hear everything going in their living room; conversation, music, any time anyone walked across the floor etc. It was waking me up every morning and preventing me from going to sleep at night.

Ease of fitting?

I got some very reliable and good builders I know to fix it for me to ensure the job was done properly. They did not have a problem fitting it and only took 3 days, mainly due to the very awkward shape of the room and the amount of debris contained between the floor boards.

The end result, did it cope with the problem? What can you hear now?

I am happy with the end result. It was explained to me that it would not completely remove the impact sound before I began but the airborne sound would be removed which is exactly the situation now. I can still hear the noise of people walking over the floor, but it is dramatically reduced! I can not hear conversation anymore and can only hear the music when they have it up full volume (although I think this is more to do with the fact they have the windows open as well). Overall I am very happy and can now sleep, thank you.